Shirt collar support



Feb. 14, 1939. G. w. BRQWNFIELD 7,

SHIRT CCLLAR SUPPORT Filed Feb. 18, 1936 FAZMMQ M Patented Feb. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES SHIRT COLLAR SUPPORT George Washington Brownfield, Washington, D.

Application February 18, 1936, Serial No. 64,585

2 Claims.

This invention relates to means for preserving the appearance and proper condition of articles of wearing apparel and has particular reference to devices or means employed by laundries and shirt factories in connection with shirts having attached collars.

It is the practice when delivering shirts which have been properly finished by the laundry, or shirts which have been properly finished at the factory, to pile or stack them one on top of the other in shipping containers such as boxes. This practice without protective means results in the front of the shirt, particularly the collar, becoming crushed, wrinkled, or otherwise impaired by having an improper permanent set given to it.

Many designs of cardboard devices have heretofore been used in an attempt to overcome these difliculties but Without complete success for various reasons; one of which is that the designs U have been such that considerable difficulty was experienced in properly positioning the form retaining device; another that the time required to insert the supporting device was excessive; and still another is that it could not be properly inserted and positioned without raising the collar of the shirt. The use of a device so designed that all the above enumerated difficulties are eliminated is of prime importance to the laundries and factories since not only will the speed of output of the finished articles be increased, but one is assured that the article itself will reach the user in the same finished condition that it left the laundry or factory.

Further, the time required to fold a finished shirt due to the cumbersome design of form retaining devices now employed is excessive, and to properly throw and hold the collar and neck band portion of the shirt in position during the folding operation necessitates the use of a form retainer.

Therefore, an object of this invention is the provision of a suitable brace, support, or form retainer for the neck band and attached collar of a finished shirt that will prevent the collar from becoming crushed or wrinkled while stacking or piling the shirts either in shipping containers or on display shelves.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a form retainer for attached shirt collars which will be simple in design and may be cheaply manufactured. This is an important feature of this invention since devices of this character customarily are only used once and discarded.

This invention further contemplates a device which may be easily and speedily attached in operative position in such a manner that it will not be readily dislodged in the subsequent handling of the shirt.

Additionally, this invention contemplates a form retainer for attached shirt collars which will effectively throw and hold the shirt collar in supported position so that the time required in folding the shirt is materially decreased.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a form retainer which may be inserted Without the necessity of lifting or folding upwardly the collar.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a folded shirt showing this invention in its pre-' ferred embodiment in operative position;

Figure 2 is a vertical elevation of the device as it appears before insertion and attachment;

Referring to the drawing in detail, particularly Figure 1, the upper portion of a shirt ID having an attached collar II is shown. Collar II is secured to the conventional neck band l2 in the usual manner. In order that the front of the neck band I 2 may be maintained in a position substantially at right angles'to the lane of the front of the shirt in a finished condition so that the collar l I cannot be crushed or wrinkled, a support or form retainer it of crescent formation, preferably formed of resilient cardboard, is inserted from the front under the wings of the collar as shown in Figure 1. Support 13 is of such simple design that it can be produced very cheaply by the die-stamping method from. any thin sheet of resilient material, such as cardboard, Celluloid, heavy paper, etc. A substantially V-shaped slot 14 disposed in the top edge and at the center of the blank divides it into two wings. Obviously the length of the wings can be made of any desired length. This slot I4 is adapted to engage the front top button or stud l of the shirt, whereby the support is held in proper position relative to the neck band [2. The wing portions of the support or form retainer l3 extend backwardly beneath the collar II and in contact with the neck band it and retains the neck band of the shirt, due to the resiliency of the cardboard, in a uniform arcuate shape.

In attaching this device to a laundered or finished shirt, the strip of cardboard, is laid in a horizontal manner across the front of the shirt with the edge having the V-slot next to the collar. Then, with one hand the operator can slide the form retainer under the points of the collar until the button or stud I5 reaches the bottom of slot l4. From this point to complete the insertion of the form retainer, the operator grasps the strip in the vicinity of the ends 16 and forces them up under the collar into contact with the neck band. Due to the resiliency of the retainer, it will accommodate itself to the contours of the neck band and the shirt and retain that portion of the collar which is secured to the neck band in raised position so that it cannot be crushed or wrinkled in stacking or piling. Thus it will be seen that my improved collar support can be easily inserted without the necessity of lifting the collar.

The simplicity of design of this device permits of a second method of insertion which also requires only two steps. The form retainer may be grasped with one hand and bent to a substantially closed U-shape so that while holding the neck band of the shirt with one hand in substantially the finished position, the retainer can be inserted from the front between the neck band and the collar with the other hand and by a second step the button or stud l5 can be raised over the slot l4 and let down into engagement with the bottom thereof. This feature of the invention is of primary importance from a time saving point of view, facility of attachment and effectiveness in supporting the collar so that it cannot become crushed or wrinkled.

While I have herein shown the support as applicable to and used in connection with shirts having collars attached thereto, it is to be understood of course that it is not limited to this particular purpose, as it may be employed in connection with other similar articles of wearing apparel such as boys waists, ladies shirtwaists having collars attached, and other similar garments.

I claim:

1. A collar support adapted to be used in connection with a collar-attached shirt comprising a support of generally crescent formation, said support being formed of relatively thin resilient sheet material, the support having a notch at its central upper edge to engage a button, said support being sufficiently resilient that it may be flexed to a substantially closed U-shape, thereby enabling the respective ends of said support to be inserted under the wings of a turned down collar and advanced to an operative position whereby the notch for engaging the button in the upper edge of the support will engage the button and the flexed support will assume contours substantially the same as those of the finished front half of the shirt neck band and have its upper edges in contact with the juncture of the collar and neck band of the shirt and due to its flexed disposition will rest on the shirt front and rigidly support the collar in upright position.

2. In combination with a shirt having a neck band, a collar secured to said neck band, a support for said collar of generally crescent formation, said support being formed of relatively thin resilient sheet material, the support having a notch at its central upper edge to engage a button, said support being sufficiently resilient that it may be flexed to a substantially closed U-shape thereby enabling the respective ends of said support to be inserted under the wings of a turned down collar and advanced to an operative position whereby the notch for engaging the button in the upper edge of the support will engage the button and the flexed support will assume contours substantially the same as those of the finished front half of the shirt neck band and have its upper edges in contact with the juncture of the collar and neck band of the shirt and due to its flexed disposition will rest on the shirt front and rigidly support the collar in upright position.

GEORGE W. BROWNFIELD. 

